Unusual pizza has a chocolate pizzazz

Makayla Silva

Published 10:12 pm, Friday, January 18, 2013

SHELTON -- The boxes may say "hot and fresh," but these are not your typical pizza pies. With products dark, milk and white chocolates, the Chocolate Pizza Co. in Shelton is serving up their uniquely sweet pizzas packaged in traditional take-out pizza boxes.

The 435 Coram Ave. storefront is the Chocolate Pizza Co.'s third brick-and-mortar location and the first in Connecticut opened by Paul and Wendy Hahn.

Paul Hahn said the company is a family-operated business, with his nephew, cousins and even his 84-year-old father creating chocolate confections.

When Paul's father was hospitalized last year, Wendy Hahn explained, the family began talking in the waiting room, and someone suggested they open a Connecticut location.

After learning the in's and out's of chocolate pizza, Paul and Wendy Hahn rolled up their sleeves and learned to craft the company's signature pizzas and wings and opened their own shop in October.

Founded more than two decades ago in Marcellus, N.Y., the company's current 23-year-old owner, Ryan Novak, nephew of Paul Hahn, has expanded the business to 500 retail locations in 36 states.

The Chocolate Pizza Co. makes pizzas in milk and dark chocolates topped with nuts, M&Ms or marshmallows and graham crackers to create a "s'mores" pie. It also makes a white chocolate pizzas topped with dried cranberries and slivered almonds. And yes, slices are available.

Paul Hahn said the secret ingredient is crushed toffee pieces baked into the chocolate, giving the pizza a firm "crust." Still, Wendy Hahn said their best seller is their "buffalo wings."

These wings don't come in mild or hot, but rather are rippled potato chips dipped in peanut butter and finished in either milk or dark chocolate to create a salty-sweet sensation.

In addition to the pizzas and wings that caught the attention of ABC and Food Network's "Unwrapped" program, the Chocolate Pizza Co. makes drumsticks, which are pretzels rolled in caramel and nuts and dipped in chocolate; chocolate-covered Oreos; and crispy rice treats.

"With all of my years in retail, it's natural to want your own business. And this is a happy business. It's not like work. I sell chocolate," Wendy Hahn said.